The FIS report, Procurement, Payment and Contract Management: The Challenges in the Low and Mid-rise Housing Sector, exposes the structural barriers facing the UK’s house-building supply chain.
Current commercial behaviours are restricting capacity, inhibiting workforce development and diminishing the sector’s ability to perform and invest in more modern construction methods, the report says.
The report says that specialist contractors typically provide between 60 and 78 days of credit due to payment terms and delays, while two-thirds face post-award price reductions despite agreed contracts. Retention practices also continue to restrict cashflow and create friction.
As a result, 41% report frequent cashflow stress and training investment is constrained.
FIS chief executive Iain McIlwee said: “For too long, the specialist supply chain has operated under conditions that limit growth and stifle innovation. This report gives voice to the people who deliver our homes, highlighting the changes needed to unlock a resilient, skilled workforce capable of meeting the UK’s ambitious housing targets. It is not a point of more needs to be done; it a point of more has to be done as we are significantly behind schedule on national targets.”
FIS is calling on house-builders, commissioning bodies and policymakers to work with the supply chain to address these issues.
The report Procurement, Payment and Contract Management: The Challenges in the Low and Mid-rise Housing Sector, is available to download from the FIS.
Got a story? Email [email protected]
